Kingdom Come

Chapter 1: Home Again

Sophie Bennett was on her way home.

As simple as it sounded, the thought alone nearly drove the poor girl to tears as she tried desperately to think about anything else other than her old house. The car ride was bumpy and uncomfortable due to the weather beaten roads and her mother's unshakable silence. The two had barely talked to each other over the past three years. It was unfortunate that she had to spend her final senior year of high school with her.

The blonde knew for a fact that she wasn't going to survive that long, and as they drove through the small town she began to make a list. It was a simple list, but it would be a little challenging to carry out. She needed distractions other than school to occupy her time. So without a doubt the first thing that came to mind was to get a job. Second was to find some acquaintances, but not friends. An acquaintance or two would be easy to control, but actual friends could be tricky. It required trust and honesty which were two things that she sucked at. And third was to find something creative to do to get her out of the house more. Maybe she could take up drawing again? Or reading?

"So, how does it feel to be back in town again?" The question sounded forced and incredibly awkward in the eerily quiet car.

Barely managing to resist cringing, Sophie quietly responded with a short answer. "It's different."

"Different good? Or different bad?"

Letting out a small sigh, the teen rolled her head towards the window to observe the townsfolk walking around the surprisingly busy street. A few kids squealed in delight as they ran through the small grassy monument park. A sharp breeze ruffled their hair wildly as they sprinted around trying to catch each other.

"…I don't know yet." She replied after a length of time.

Thankfully the conversation ended after that, and in no time at all they reached their small two-story house. Sophie emerald eyes scanned the familiar sight for a moment, taking note of the few changes to her childhood home before she got out of the car.

"You can use your old room upstairs or even Jamie's. But he's probably going to need it back when he comes back for the holidays though."

That's okay; I'll just take my old room."

They both helped each other to move all four giant boxes of Sophie's stuff to her bedroom. It took almost a half an hour, and after turning down her mom's offer to help her unpack, the teen finally stood alone in her room. She knew she should be doing something productive, but the only thought that came to her mind was to get out of this place. There was no concrete reason why she felt this way, but she felt strangely insecure as if the walls surrounding her were watching her with judging eyes.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she began to unpack most of her belongings until the afternoon sun shined a dim orange throughout her entire room. Squinting through the window, Sophie then turned back to observe her hard work before spotting a book to read and snatching it up. It was time for her to find an outdoor escape from this place.

She stealthily crept downstairs and past the kitchen where her mother was cooking them both dinner. Using the backdoor she slipped outside and felt a little giddy about managing to escape unseen. Creeping away from the door, she accidently rammed her foot into a little, but deceivingly heavy garden gnome. Cursing under her breath as she held onto her throbbing toe, she eventually let go then limped away to the spot in the fence that was still thankfully broken.

Swinging the piece of wood to the side, she slid through the hole and bolted for the forest. Hopefully nothing had changed, she thought desperately as she hurried forward towards the prettiest place in all of Burgess. As Sophie arrived she slowed down to admire the beauty of the scene before her and with a happy grin she sat down on the slight hill before the lake. It was a nice and secluded spot, the perfect place for hiding away and to think about things. It was simple place with a bunch of surroundings bushy pine trees with a fantastic view of a beautiful lake. It froze over every winter and was the perfect place to go ice skating.

After getting reacquainted with it, she eventually lied down and began reading her book, hoping to come close to finishing the chapter she was on before the sun went down. Her phone buzzed irritatingly at her side multiple times as her mom called or texted for her to come home. A tiny stab of guilt ate at her each time this happened until finally she sat up then blinked as a sudden cold draft blew into her.

Frowning at the randomness of it, Sophie took out her phone and sighed when she saw that it was indeed her mom that was bugging her. Standing up she took two steps then gasped as she ran into a fuzzy patch of air. There was no other way to describe it as her entire body tingled like it had just felt a ghost or something.

Glancing back and forth worriedly, Sophie quietly told herself, "Don't worry, it was nothing. Nothing to worry about."

At the top of the slight hill, she turned to face the lake once more before staring down at the place she had felt something off. There was nothing wrong with the area, but her gut instinct told her that something big had happened just a second ago.

Deciding not to over think it, the teen quickly walked home and missed as the ground frosted over mysteriously as she disappeared back into her yard.

"I think I'm going to try to get a part time job at the gas station."

"Oh that one in the middle of town? Isn't that a bit far? I don't think I'll be able to drive you home some nights if I get held over at work." Her mom started worriedly as Sophie took another bite out of her homemade lasagna. It used to be one of her favorite dinners to eat as a child.

"It's only a ten minute walk from the house. I'll be fine."

"I want to take you though. I want to be there for you." Mrs. Bennett told her daughter as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as they slid down once more. It was an old habit of her mothers that Sophie faintly remembered.

"I can take care of myself. I'm almost eighteen anyways." Sophie tried to say reassuringly as her mom continued to send her sad looks.

The blonde walked over to the sink to start doing the dishes, not thinking twice about it until her mom quickly stood up and said. "No wait, I'll do those, you go enjoy the rest of your night."

"It's fine, I-"

"Please Sophie, just let me."

Trying desperately to ignore the huge elephant in the room, Sophie hurriedly turned on her heel and walked upstairs to her room. Slamming the bedroom door behind herself accidently, she stood in the still unsorted mess in her room. She couldn't help but feel as if her belongings were like a visual replica her soul at that moment; chaotic and disorganized. Yet, still wanting desperately to return to some resemblance of normal again.

Ignoring the fresh tears that started to brim in the corners of her eyes, she wiped them away like pests before flopping down onto her bed. It felt stiff and chilly from disuse, and it made her heart ache even more. Why did her dad have to force her to come back here again?

Choking back the sobs that threatened to escape she turned her back to the remaining sunlight in the room and cried herself to sleep. A frosted handprint formed on her window glass as she did so, but once again she was too caught up in her grief to notice her surroundings.

A week later after settling in, Sophie still felt out of place, but things were getting a little better as she found new reasons to get out of the house. Her favorite place to go was the lake even though she never felt that strange icy feeling again. For some reason, it nagged at her. Although she should probably be glad that it never bothered her again.

She tried applying for the job at the gas station and was still waiting for someone to call for an interview. All she really had left on her tiny list was to find a few acquaintances. Even one would do at this point.

Forcing a soft green beanie over her head she glanced over herself once in the mirror and determined that her baggy sweatshirt and jeans would be decent enough for her first day at school.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you!?" Mrs. Bennett called up the stairs.

"Nah, I'll walk." Sophie refused as she walked downstairs, but quickly added to it upon seeing her mom's crestfallen features. "Thanks for the offer though, I just want to have some time to myself before my first class starts."

"You've been spending a lot of time by yourself ever since you've gotten here."

Sophie inwardly cringed at the worry and suspicion in her mother's tone. "I'm just getting used to things around here. I like spending time by myself."

Ignoring the evaluating look the older woman gave her; Sophie hurriedly shouldered her small black and white checkered backpack and fled out the door. The crisp morning air was an instant relief as she opened her eyes to view the sun rising over the mountains surrounding Burgess. A small smile worked its way onto her reluctant lips as she stepped forward only to trip over a potted fern.

Growling lowly at her own clumsiness, Sophie grimaced at her scraped up palms and weakly kicked at the offending fern before heading towards the high school. She had made it only a few steps when she heard a distant high pitched squeaking sound. Frowning she stopped and listened harder and sent a skeptical glance over her shoulder to look back at her house window but saw nobody there.

"This place is already making me crazy," Sophie told herself as she hurriedly moved down the street and away from the bizarre noises that sounded like laughter.

A/N: I'm so excited to get this story out. Finally! I've been working on figuring this out almost as long as I've been working on my other story Forever. I'm glad I waited on this one though because it's more concrete in my head now and I know what direction it's going to take and how it'll end.

Anyways I've pondered over what would have happened to Jack if Pitch never acted up in the first place and Jack never became a Guardian. So, in this story he hasn't been believed in yet, and has pretty much given up on being noticed at this point. This will eventually be a Jack/Sophie romance which is why I had a decade or so go by so that she's 17 currently. Jamie's in college but will play a small part in this story. And yeah, I think that's about it...